Bail delayed for SANDF soldiers accused of killing Ethiopian nationals and Hawks investigator
CCTV footage submitted to the High Court in Johannesburg shows Ethiopian businessman and suspected ISIS funder Abdella Hussein Abadiga and his bodyguard Kadir Jemal Abotese inside Mall of Africa before they vanished on 29 December 2022.
Image: Abdurahim Hussein Abadiga
The Randburg Magistrates' Court postponed the bail application of 12 South African National Defence Force (SANDF) members to Thursday, to allow for the verification of their residential addresses.
The accused 12 soldiers face multiple serious charges, including three counts of murder, kidnapping, fraud, obstruction of justice, perjury, and theft of a motor vehicle.
The charges stem from the alleged kidnapping of Ethiopian businessman and suspected ISIS funder Abdella Hussain Abadiga and his bodyguard Kadir Jemal Abotese on 29 December 2022 at Mall of Africa in Midrand.
National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) Gauteng regional spokesperson, Phindi Mjonondwane, said the victims were reportedly abducted from the Midrand mall and taken to the Zwartkop Military Base, and their whereabouts remain unknown.
“The accused are also linked to the assassination of Lieutenant Colonel Frans Mathipa, a Hawks officer investigating the kidnapping. Mathipa was fatally shot on 6 August 2023 on the N1 Highway by individuals reportedly driving a SANDF vehicle,” said Mjonondwane.
When Lieutenant Colonel Frans Mathipa was shot dead in 2023, he was probing allegations that members of the SANDF Special Forces had abducted two people including an Ethiopian businessman and suspected ISIS leader from the Mall of Africa.
Image: SAPS
During the court proceedings on Tuesday, the defence submitted affidavits in which the accused deny any involvement in the incidents.
A statement from their commanding officer was also submitted in support of the bail application.
Mjonondwane said the NPA views the matter in a serious light, given the nature of the charges and the potential threat to the administration of justice.
The accused SANDF members were arrested in June.
IOL previously reported that some of the soldiers were arrested at different places, including the OR Tambo International Airport and Centurion in Tshwane.
Following the arrests, spokesperson for the Hawks, Lieutenant Colonel Christopher Singo, stated that the arrests were carried out by members of the Johannesburg-based Hawks’ Serious Organised Crime Investigation, the headquarters’ Serious Organised Crime Investigation, and the Tactical Operations Management Section (Toms).
“The arrests are linked to the murder of Lieutenant Colonel Frans Mathipa, who was fatally shot while driving on the N1 highway near Hammanskraal on August 6, 2023. Following the shooting, his vehicle lost control and veered into a ditch,” Singo said.
Mathipa, who was attached to the Hawks’ Crimes Against the State Unit within the Serious Organised Crime Investigation in Gauteng, was on duty conducting an investigation at the time of his death.
CCTV footage submitted to the High Court in Johannesburg shows Ethiopian businessman and suspected ISIS funder Abdella Hussein Abadiga and his bodyguard Kadir Jemal Abotese inside Mall of Africa before they vanished on 29 December 2022.
Image: Abdurahim Hussein Abadiga
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